Association between urine aldosterone and diastolic function in patients with primary aldosteronism and essential hypertension

Objective: To investigate the association between aldosterone and cardiac diastolic dysfunction. Design and methods: We prospectively enrolled 20 patients with primary aldosteronism (PA) and 22 patients with essential hypertension (EH). Plasma aldosterone concentration, plasma renin activity, and 24-h urine aldosterone level were measured. Echocardiography, including tissue Doppler image recordings, was performed. Results: PA patients had a significantly higher left ventricular (LV) mass index and worse LV diastolic function than those in EH patients. Among various measures of aldosterone, log-transformed 24-h urine aldosterone level had the most consistent correlation with diastolic function. Conclusions: Aldosterone is strongly associated with LV diastolic dysfunction. Twenty-four hour urine aldosterone is a good indicator to evaluate the impact of aldosterone on LV diastolic function.